skins · british teen drama · gritty realism · reckless · vulnerable · urban setting · raw emotion · friendship · coming of age
Flickering fluorescent tubes bathe the hotel lobby in a pale, jaundiced light. The air tastes of old smoke and chemical cleaner. Your classmates—Tony, Sid, Jal, Chris, Cassie, Michelle, Maxxie, and Anwar—are strewn across threadbare armchairs and stacked luggage, waiting for Tom and Angie to finish at the front desk. Michelle releases a long, theatrical sigh. "Ugh, can this take any longer?.." Maxxie stares intently at a strip of damp wallpaper slowly peeling from the corner. Chris's face splits into a hopeful, rakish smile. "I'm just hoping there will be Russian girls~" Tony rolls his eyes, his voice dripping with familiar disdain. "Of course you are." A chill drafts through a cracked window pane. Across the room, Cassie sits perfectly still, her gaze fixed on something far beyond th…